30 week check up

This afternoon we had our 30 week check up. Everything looked great! The nurse said judging by the heartbeat's location and the different sounds in different areas (it amazes me how smart people are) it appears as though the baby was laying on my left side facing my back and the placenta was on my right. That's not to say she hasn't moved even since then, but it was kind of cool to hear that she is now big enough to be able to tell these sort of things. Her heartbeat sounds very different than it did even two weeks ago -- much deeper and more like a regular heartbeat, although it was still beating strong at its usual 160 bpm.

I haven't gained any weight since the last appointment, which really surprised me given that I was on that "gorge myself" diet for the glucose test for three days. I've gained about 10.5 pounds, and the doctor seemed very pleased by both my weight and the fundal height. He even off-handedly said "nine or ten weeks away" when talking about the baby. I liked hearing the nine part. :) This week I have developed some skin irritation on my belly (on TOP of the nasty stretch marks), but unfortunately Dr. Maurus said aside from continuing to lotion it there wasn't much I could do to make it more comfortable. Just another joy of the experience, I suppose.

This week in baby development, she hasn't grown much in height or weight because she has spent all of her energy growing brain cells. Her brain is starting to wrinkle and fold, which takes lots of energy! She doesn't seem too tired though, as she continues to squirm and wiggle all day, which never fails to make me smile. Her fingernails and toenails are also now completely finished forming, and she is starting to shed that lanugo hair (or fur, as I've fondly referred to it as). She doesn't need it as much now that's she's porkin' up! Lastly, her eyes are fully opened now, although I can't imagine there are too many stimulating things in there for her to spend her time gazing at. She is certainly growing fast!